1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to data storage and display, and more particularly to synchronizing data representation and data processing and display in a plurality of languages.
2. Background Art
During a large migration project there is a need to collect data from the users being migrated and place that collected data in a centralized database. When the sites being migrated are world wide, there is also a need to support many languages. Not only the dialogs have to be converted to each language in the normal way, but the results returned by the tool and placed as data elements in the database need to be in synchronization with the language and enumerations that the database expects.
National Language Support (NLS) has been used to convert a program to a correct language, and to translate dialogs. However, there is needed the facility for on-the-fly conversion, and for such facility to enable communication between two programs working in different languages.
Many times when database systems, such as the IBM DB2 or Lotus Notes database systems, are being used to store data collected by a user there is a need to provide a tool that is used by the user to enter the data collected without having to have the database application software installed on the user's computer. Further, if the user speaks a different language than the database is using, for example the user is in France but the database is being administered in Spain, then there is a need to provide a means for having the user interface presentation in one language and the results conveyed from the interface to the database in a different language.
IBM, DB/2, Lotus, Notes, and Lotus Notes are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.